Inside Gareth Southgate’s England exit – the possible replacement

Gareth Southgate’s tenure as England manager came to an end on Tuesday morning.

At 11am BST, the FA confirmed the verdict, and the country was officially in the post-Southgate era. He was no longer ‘the one’.

A 329-word first-person statement was published across England’s website and social media channels, a clear sign that this decision was firmly led by Southgate, who wanted to depart by directly addressing the nation.

90min understands it was always likely Southgate would have walked away from the job if England didn’t win Euro 2024. The FA had hoped if the Three Lions were victorious in Berlin or performances across the tournament as a whole were promising, they would be able to convince the 53-year-old to stay on for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Alas, England limped to the Olympiastadion and Southgate made the call to stand down quickly after the loss to Spain.

Southgate is widely credited as the architect behind England’s club-style feel which ultimately led to their return to international prominence and contention. He was not sacked nor pressured to leave. It was a fast and collaborative decision, and the FA do not have a singular leading candidate in mind at the moment.

However, their shortlist is relatively short, with only four-to-five names under consideration at this moment. This is due to succession-planning, regardless of whether Southgate left now or later, being underway for over a year.

The odd-one-out among the names discussed is Mauricio Pochettino, who is the only foreign coach in the FA’s thinking. But sources have told 90min that this does not mean the Argentine is at a disadvantage – the best candidate for the job will be hired regardless of nationality.

Pochettino is open to an approach from the FA and has made no secret of his love of English football and living in the country.

Mauricio Pochettino

Pochettino’s predecessor at Chelsea, Graham Potter, is another name on the FA’s list. He was highly regarded during his spell in charge of Brighton & Hove Albion, and it is believed any official judgement in regards to the England job would be framed around his job at the Amex Stadium, rather than his difficult spell at Stamford Bridge.

Potter has rejected various offers since leaving Chelsea in April 2023, and though he is open to international management, he could still turn to club football again if he is presented with the right offer.

The FA admired Southgate for his three-year stint in charge of England’s Under-21s, and that side’s current boss, Lee Carsley, is also a candidate. The FA want to set up pathways for coaches as well as players, and Carsley, who led the U21s to European Championship glory last summer and has worked with a sizeable portion of the senior squad, is expected to be involved in the process.

And then there is the most intriguing candidate – Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe, who has long been touted as a potential Southgate successor.

 

Eddie Howe

90min understands Howe would consider taking the England job even though Newcastle will fight to keep him.

Newcastle are in a building process as they try to compete consistently with the Premier League’s big six. Yet changes behind the scenes at St James’ Park, although ambitious ones, could lead Howe to consider his options. He certainly hasn’t lost faith in the Magpies’ project, but there has been quite a bit of upheaval and the England job doesn’t come around too often.

Last week, it was announced that co-owners Amanda Staveley and Mehrdad Ghodoussi would leave Newcastle. Right there, Howe lost two of his allies in the boardroom.

Paul Mitchell has also been appointed as the club’s replacement for sporting director Dan Ashworth, who was finally granted permission to leave for Manchester United earlier this month. Howe has huge respect for Mitchell, who could yet be a factor in him choosing to remain since the former Monaco sporting director is seen as a major coup. But what is clear is Dougie Freedman was Howe’s first choice for sporting director, as he was for many in the Newcastle hierarchy, but he chose to stay at Crystal Palace.

Newcastle want Howe to stay but they won’t deny him an interview if one is offered and would respect his decision.

If Howe is chosen, and we are a long way from that still, he will require compensation, but this won’t be a problem for the FA, who are more willing than clubs to pay managerial release clauses. Nevertheless, they have been handed a financial boost, as the amount quoted in Howe’s contract is now lower than the £8m sum they would have had to pay had Newcastle qualified for Europe.

There is also a dark-horse contender in Wolves’ Gary O’Neil, who has fans from within the England setup. Thomas Tuchel has also been linked with the vacancy as well, but FA sources have downplayed the possibility of him being a candidate.